


Last Christmas?

by QueenPotatos



Category: Free!
Genre: Attempt of fluff, M/M, this is kinda silly, very tired people talking nonsense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 16:22:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9132091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenPotatos/pseuds/QueenPotatos
Summary: Last Christmas I gave you my heart but the very next day, you gave it away.This year to save me from tears, I'll give it to someone special.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Amalthea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amalthea/gifts).



> Merry Late Xmas and Happy new year !

 

 

The setting this time is quite simple - night of Christmas, on Haru's bedroom, on his floor to be precise. It's only 3 AM but they both look drunk from the lack of sleep.  

"You're gonna fall asleep before I do." 

"Go to hell." 

"Is this a yes then?" 

Haru rolls on his side, showing his back to Rin's grin. "Told you to go to Hell." 

"Make me." 

"How so?" 

"Dunno," there are some churros left that Rin catches and brings to his mouth, before failing, thanks to his lack of will to chew them properly, "I'm just not so used to beat you so easily. I like it better when you fight back. Hey. Haru. Don't fall asleep you morron." 

Rin pinches his side. Haru groans.  

"You're the moron, moron." 

"Ouch. That was so low. We sound like drunk people." 

"No you don't. At least you sleep when you're drunk." 

"What?" 

They had a party with Nagisa Makoto and Rei a long time ago – a couple of hours, no more. Haru had a very good time, maybe that's why he refuses to fall asleep, despite the weight of his lids. Rin is awfully talkative but only says nonsense. It's like he can't find enough words to hush the ones he doesn't want to use. 

"Leave me alone." 

Haru doesn't think that of course, but he does sound good to piss off Rin a bit, and he likes the idea. 

"Make me." 

Haru kicks him in the nuts by inadvertence. Rin groans, adorably. There's already a smile forming on his lips then. 

 

"You know, I was thinking what Mario Kart character you could play." 

"I don't play video games." 

Rin goes on of course, ignoring Haru's clear signal saying he doesn't want to hear about it – he always does that. "We used to play a lot the N64 one with Gou and Sousuke before I went to Australia. Gou was Peach, Sousuke took Bowser – now he's more like Waluigi for some reason – and I was Donkey Kong, of course." 

"Don't care." 

"I think we always had a good time playing. Maybe it was because I always won." 

"Why are you thinking about those stupid things all of a sudden?" 

"I clearly remember Gou getting mad at me because I refused to tell her where the secrets passages were, especially on the beach level and trust me she was mad, mad, mad..." 

Haru is about to tell who's gonna be mad in a second, but surrenders. He has not enough energy left. 

"I always wondered if we ever played together which character who would have chosen. Mario? No, you're not the kind of person who wold take the hero." 

"Is there a hero in a karting game?" Haru asks. 

Again, Rin ignores him. "I bet Makoto would have chosen Luigi though, don't really know why...Maybe Toad, before he's like super weird – it's a fucking mushroom." 

"Can mushrooms drive a kart?" 

Rin lifts his eyebrows. "Well, depends on which console you're playing I suppose." 

"Can a fish drive a kart then?" 

"...I suppose. Maybe those red fishes on some Mario's aquatic levels that look awfully like a magikarp with their big fishy eyes and yellow mouth opened, touching the wheel with their very tinny yellow fins-"  

Rin chooses this moment to imitate a fish driving a kart by sort of sticking his arms on his torso. It's kind of hilarious, Haru admits. He laughs a bit, and closes his eyes. 

When he opens them Rin is talking about an entire different thing. 

"But you know I agree with Gou on that, there was enough room for two people. She cried so much that time I swore never to take her to the cinema again. Does she have a boyfriend by the way?" 

"Dunno," Haru replies. He doesn't have any idea of what Rin is talking about but the answer suits any kind of situation he can think of. 

"I guess it's too early. Speaking of which, what times is it?" 

"3.10 AM." He had only drift off for a couple of minute and Rin manages to lose him entirely. 

"Oh, there's still plenty of time. Come on Yoshi, let's play a game." 

"Who are you calling Yoshi?" 

Rin was, apparently, talking about a green dinosaur wearing red shoes who could with his little green arms, drive a kart; he had decided Haru would play with it – he insisted that Haru had agreed but Haru doesn't remember agreeing to anything in his sleep. 

They walk all the way to Rin's place, their footstep leaving traces in the snow. 

The cold keeps them awake. 

 

"Haru...I don't want to fall asleep." 

"You're  already drooling on my shoulder." 

"Sorry. I'll drool somewhere else." Rin lies down on the floor. 

"Maybe you should just sleep. We should sleep." 

"Don't wanna." 

Haru yawns soundlessly. "I'm going home then." 

"Stay here." 

"Rin." 

"Haru?" 

"Rin." 

"Haru?" 

Rin gets hit by the nearest pillow Haru could find. "You're impossible." 

"Ha, forgive me for that. I feel like being impossible today." 

"Today?" 

"Well yeah today the 25th of December, why?" 

Haru stands up with the cushion still in his hands. "I've had enough." 

"Wait." 

Rin has caught his ankle. "Wait, Haru, don't go yet." 

"What do you want in the end?" Haru shouts, "I'm exhausted, you're half sleeping on the floor and none of what you say makes any sense – the whole night, actually. Why won't you just accept that we just need to sleep?" 

Rin lets go of his ankle. "Because...it's last Christmas, you know?" 

"No it's not." 

"I mean, it's our last Christmas. Maybe. I don't know. Where do you see yourself next year?" 

Haru sighs deeply, "I don't know where I'll be in a week." 4 AM isn't the perfect time to have a sudden burst of life anxiety. "Why are you suddenly thinking about it? You've made your choice months ago." 

"Yeah but I only sort of realize today that I maybe won't spend next Christmas with you." 

"We'll have lots of more days," Haru sits by Rin's side, caressing his hair. "Christmas is just like any other day, time doesn't flow more slowly." 

Rin hits his leg. "Of course it's not like any other day you moron!" 

"You're being romantic." 

"What did you expect?" 

Nothing more and nothing less from him, indeed. 

 

"I guess I get these sort of small anxiety attacks when I see how close to the end of the year we stand. I had a wonderful year thanks to you, I don't really want it to end. Maybe next year would be better, maybe not, but from now I don't want to waste any time we have. I don't want to fall asleep until I collapse from the lack of sleep. I want to take the most of it before my new life starts. I don't want to have any regret." 

"It's not like we're not going to see each other at all." Haru says, his hands still on Rin's hair. "You make it sounds worse than it is." 

"I have that list of things I want to do before the end of the year. Playing Mario Kart with you was one of them. I have a couple of more. Do you mind?" 

"Mind what?"  

Haru has a bad feeling he won't appreciate Rin's answer – and his grin doesn't make anything better. 

"Come with me, Haru." 

 

Sometimes Haru wonders if it's not part of a dream. He's fallen asleep in Rin's bedroom and he's dreaming everything. Rin holds his hand as they run in the cold, looking for that special place Rin has always wanted to come but never has the guts to. 

From the outside it looks like a bar. It's almost empty – there's only two couples on each side of the place. As feared, there's something utterly embarrassing in the very centre of the place. 

"...Karaoke? really?" 

"Don't judge me okay?" 

"No, no I mean. I never thought you'd be ashamed of that." 

"...Oh. Really?" Rin lets go of his hands. "You would have come here with me if I have asked you?" 

"No." 

His answer is quick and definitive, and makes Rin's smile disappear from his face. "See? That's why it was on the list." 

They order hot chocolates and a red cocktail Haru has never heard of before taking their seats. 

"You're not really-" 

"Wait here a minute okay?" 

Powerless, Haru watches Rin walking dangerously close to the Karaoke and closes his eyes when Rin takes the mike in his hands. No matter how hard he swears in his head his thoughts aren't enough to stop Rin – neither are his words or his hands. 

It's a chance there's literally no one in this bar. The four other people in here must be married people cheating and meeting in secret. That's the only option Haru can think of. 

The tune starts, Rin has chosen an English song so that Haru won't understand a thing, great. 

"Ahem... _Last Christmas I gave you my heart but very next day you gave it away. This year to save me from tears, I'll give it to someone special..."_  

Rin winks, and then gestures Haru to come to the small stage with him. Sometimes Haru wonders how much energy it costs him to tolerate Rin, or how on earth he is joining him to the said stage at this very moment. 

_"_ _Once bitten and twice shy_ _I keep my distance b_ _ut you still catch my eye._ _Tell me, baby, do yo_ _u recognize me?_ _Well, i_ _t's been a year, i_ _t doesn't surprise me."_  

Rin takes his hands and makes him dance clumsily – Haru has never been good with his feet on land, neither is Rin when he's tired like this. Haru turns on himself and Rin rushes him to his chest. 

_"_ _I wrapped it up and sent it w_ _ith a note saying, "I love you,"_ _I meant it n_ _ow I know what a fool I've been._ _But if you kissed me now_ _I know you'd fool me again..."_  

From now on Rin stops singing. The mike falls on the floor, his arms curl around Haru's waist and links their forehead. Rin is warm very suddenly, the air is warm, the music the chocolate waiting in their table Rin hands on the small of his back everything feels so warm. It gets his head fuzzy, and even if he tries to ignore it, it doesn't only come from his lack of sleep. 

When the song his over Rin leaves him on the stage and it takes Haru a good minute to compose and follow him to their seats. 

The contrast between the warmth of Rin's arms and the cold of the night bites on his skin, even with his sweater and woollen coat. There's steam coming from Rin's mouth. He's actually blowing to make it appears, just like he used to do before he left for Australia so long ago. There's a million of things Haru wants to ask him but he can't. He's too trouble for that, he can't find the words. 

The night will never be long enough. 

 

They come back to Haru's place. 

 

"So, the sun is almost up." 

"Almost." Speaking is painful in the cold. 

"We still have to determined who's gonna win tonight's bet." 

"Which bet?" Haru asks. 

"Who's gonna fall asleep first." 

"If we're both up when the sun gets up can't we both be winners?" 

"Another tie?" Rin laughs, his eyes looking at the disappearing stars. "Yeah, why not after all?" 

They are in front of his house but Haru can't find the strength to get in. 

"Hey, what has gotten you all of a sudden?" Rin pats his shoulder. "You look awfully sad." 

"I'm not." Not awfully at least. 

"Come on, give me a smile." 

"No." 

Rin frowns. "Stop being a dick for our last Christmas together. Oh, I know what you need." 

"Sleep?" Haru proposes, but Rin has a better idea up in his sleeve. 

Rin sticks his arms close to his torso and purses his lips into an 'O' - "blob blob blob." The next moment he's imitating a fish riding a kart again. 

"...Rin...this is ridiculous." 

But Rin goes on and adds the engine sounds to his imitation, running in Haru's garden as if it was a circuit. 

"...Rin!" 

Rin acts like he's 4 years old. Rin looks free. 

Haru starts to laugh. 

_"Blob_ _blob_ _blob_ _– vroom_ _vroom_ _"_  

He bursts out of laughing. It catches Rin off-guard. 

"..Haru!!! Are you alright??" 

He can't answer right away but nods to reassure Rin. Some tears are falling from his tired eyes. Haru still tries to breath properly when Rin forces him in. He can't stop laughing for good minutes, and only stops when Rin brings him a cup of warm tea and some mackerel. 

"Damn, you must be damn tired to laugh that much. That was absolutely a terrible imitation of a fish driving a car." 

"That was stupid." 

Rin laughs, "Yeah, totally, thank you for reminding me. But at least it worked right? It's another thing to cross out of my list" 

Haru hides him smile behind his cup of tea. 

"You know Haru, you should smile more." 

"Hn?" 

"And laugh more. You should totally laugh more." 

Haru puts the cup down. "Make me then." 

There's challenge and fire in Rin's eyes, and so much tenderness and joy in his smile. "Challenge accepted." 

 

They fall asleep, Rin on top of Haru, after a vain attempt to tickle him to death – they were both too tired to fight anymore. 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> (RIP George Mickeal)  
> I sounds rather silly afterward...lot's of dialogues, I love writing dialogues, just dialogues...  
> I hope you liked it anyway :) Haru's laugh is so precious


End file.
